1. Creation and purpose. The
Standing Committee on Judicial Ethics is hereby created to provide judges and
aspirants to judicial office advisory opinions regarding ethical matters that
may arise in the ordinary course of judicial service, or in the elective or
appointment process.

2. Organization of the committee. The
committee shall consist of thirty members. Twelve shall be attorneys, twelve
shall be non-attorneys, and six shall be judges designated to serve on the
ethics advisory committee as provided in Rule 5.

The Board of Governors of the State Bar shall appoint
the attorney members, and the Governor may appoint the non-attorney members. If
the Governor declines to appoint, then the Board of Governors of the State Bar
and the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline shall each appoint six of the
non-attorney members. The supreme court shall appoint three district judges and
three judges serving either as municipal court judges or justices of the peace.

When appointing the non-attorney members, consideration
shall be given to each appointee’s experience in the areas of advertising and
public relations, journalism, regulatory bodies, politics and political
campaigns, and also to the appointee’s other qualifications and experience as
will ensure that diverse points of view are represented on the committee.

(a) Terms. Appointments or
reappointments are for a two-year term of office. The initial membership shall
have staggered terms. No member shall be appointed to more than four
consecutive full terms.

(b) Removal. Committee members are
not subject to removal by their appointing authority during their terms of
office, except for cause. Cause includes unexcused failures to attend scheduled
meetings, the number of which the committee shall set in an attendance policy.

3. Officers of the committee. There
shall be a chair and vice-chair. The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline
shall appoint the chair and vice-chair from the attorney members of the
committee for two-year terms.

4. Executive director of the committee. The
executive director of the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline shall act as
the executive director of the committee.

2. Assist the supreme court by studying
and recommending additions to, amendments to, or repeal of provisions of the
Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct or other laws governing the conduct of judges
and judicial candidates.

Rule 3.Conflicts of interest. Committee members
shall not participate in any matter in which they have either a material
pecuniary interest that would be affected by a proposed advisory opinion or
committee recommendation, or any other conflict of interest which prevents them
from participating. However, no action of the committee will be invalid where
full disclosure of a potential conflict of interest has been made and the
committee has decided that the member’s participation was not improper.

[Added; effective December 1, 1997.]

Rule 4.Reserved.

Rule 5. Ethics advisory committee.The
attorney members of the Standing Committee on Judicial Ethics and Election
Practices and six judges appointed by the supreme court shall function as an
ethics advisory committee. The committee has the authority to render
non-binding advisory opinions on hypothetical questions regarding the Nevada
Code of Judicial Conduct. The advisory opinions may also be issued by a panel
of the ethics advisory committee.

1. Opinions. Any opinion
issued by the committee expresses the judgment of the committee and is advisory
only. When it is determined that a request warrants a written opinion, the
opinion shall:

(a) Set forth hypothetical facts of the ethical
question presented in a general manner without identification of the requesting
judge or judicial candidate or any details of the request which would permit
such identification;

(b) Identify the judicial canons relied upon and
include other authorities relevant to the disposition of the opinion;

(c) Include a discussion and conclusion;

(d) Be signed by the chair or vice-chair of the
committee; and

(e) Conclude with the following statement:

This opinion is issued by the
Standing Committee on Judicial Ethics and Election Practices. It is advisory
only. It is not binding upon the courts, the State Bar of Nevada, the Nevada
Commission on Judicial Discipline, any person or tribunal charged with
regulatory responsibilities, any member of the Nevada judiciary, or any person
or entity which requested the opinion.

2. Panels. The ethics
advisory committee may be divided into panels of eight members each. The chair
or vice-chair, one district judge, and one municipal judge or justice of the
peace shall be members of each panel.

3. Filing and delivery. The
formal advisory opinion shall be furnished by personal delivery or first-class
mail to the address provided by the requesting party. The committee shall also
file a copy of the opinion with the clerk of the supreme court. All formal
advisory opinions shall be numbered and maintained on file at the committee’s
office, together with all materials considered by the committee in adopting the
opinion, and shall be available to any member of the bench or bar upon request.
A reasonable charge to defray the costs of reproduction of such opinions and
postage may be collected.

4. Limitations. The committee
shall not act on requests for opinions when any of the following circumstances
exist:

(a) There is a pending state bar or judicial
discipline commission complaint, investigation, proceeding, or litigation
concerning the subject of the request.

(b) The request constitutes a complaint against a
member of the judiciary.

(c) The request involves procedures employed by
the judicial discipline commission in processing complaints against judges.

(d) The request involves activities, the
propriety of which depends principally on a question of law unrelated to
judicial ethics.

(e) Where it is known that the request involves a
situation in litigation or concerns threatened litigation or involves the
propriety of sanctions within the purview of the courts, such as contempt.

(f) The committee has by majority vote determined
that it would be inadvisable to respond to the request and has specified in
writing its reasoning to the person who requested the opinion.

5. Confidentiality. Except
for the opinions issued by the committee, all meetings, deliberations,
materials considered, and work product of the committee shall be confidential.

Rule 6.Recommendations for revision or amendment of canons of judicial
conduct and other laws governing judges or judicial candidates. The
committee shall study and submit recommendations to the supreme court regarding
proposed changes to the Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct or other laws governing
the conduct of judges and judicial candidates.

Rule 7.Immunity. The
members of the committee and all staff persons assisting them shall have
absolute immunity from civil liability for all acts undertaken in the course of
their official duties pursuant to these rules.